


Thick as Thieves

by sumhowe_sailing



Series: Snapshots of Domesticity [1]
Category: Raffles - E. W. Hornung
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-11-01 04:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10913925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sumhowe_sailing/pseuds/sumhowe_sailing
Summary: A series of very short pieces about Bunny and Raffles being cute and happy.***"It's an old adage that partners in crime never trust each other."





	Thick as Thieves

“O Bunny mine, what is this?”

“A book, Raffles. Surely you’ve seen one before?”

“Cheeky rabbit,” Raffles smiled at him before turning his attention back to the book he’d carelessly thrown aside. “Is this one any good?”

“Absolute rubbish.”

“What is it about?”

“Criminals.”

“Can’t get enough of them, is that it?” Raffles looked up, laughter in his eyes. But the book had bothered Bunny immensely and he did not feel like laughing at it.

“I didn’t choose it for that. In fact I didn’t even know what it was about when I started it.”

“So then, you’ve had too much of us criminals? The moment they came to light you threw the book away, have I got it now?”

“Wrong again. But surely you didn’t come all the way here to ask me about my reading.”

“Ah, no, you have me there. And yet, my curiosity has been piqued and you must indulge me. What about this innocent looking little thing failed to live up to your immeasurable standards?”

“If you’re going to tease, I won’t say another word about it.”

“Tease? I would never tease you, dear Bunny. Look, I am innocence itself.” The expression he made as he said this certainly would have fooled anyone else, but Bunny recognized the latent mischief in the curve of his lips and the carefree grace of his pose. In spite of himself, the sight made Bunny laugh.

“Well, if you _must_ know—”

“Yes, I must.”

“It’s that the authors of these things always seem so fond of that old adage about partners in crime never trusting each other.”

“What do you mean, Bunny?”

“Just that the one thief murdered his partner, and I thought it spoiled the plot.”

“Really, Bunny, I think _you’re_ the one spoiling things. Suppose I really had wanted to read it? Now you’ve given it all away.”

“Hardly. If you pick up any petty crime novel now, they’re all the same. All the criminals are intent on doing each other in.”

“What, does it make you nervous? Surely you’re not afraid _I’ll_ do something of the kind one of these days?”

The mere thought that Raffles would deliberately harm him would have made Bunny laugh if he hadn’t been in such a serious mood. All the same, the gleam in Raffles’s eyes showed that he at least was thoroughly amused by all this.

 “Don’t be ridiculous, of course I’m not.”

“Then why all the fuss? It’s just a silly book, after all.”

“But why can’t writers ever tell things as they are? ‘Thick as thieves’—that’s an old adage too, why don’t they ever write about _that_? Why don’t they ever write about…” he trailed off. He was sure Raffles knew what he’d been about to say, but he was suddenly embarrassed by how horribly trivial and absurd it was. Raffles must have sensed his embarrassment, too (how transparent Bunny must be to him), because he took pity on him then. Setting the book down, he crossed the room and took Bunny’s face in his hands, forcing him to meet his eyes.

“They write like that because they lack imagination. After all,” Raffles grinned wickedly before leaning in to kiss him, “what writer could possibly conceive of hardened criminals like us being so terribly fond of each other?”


End file.
